Pile fabric and method of making same



July 17, 1956 F. P. GRO/w PILE FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Aug. 3, 1951 a s I United States Patent O PILE FABRIC AND METHOD F MAKING SAME Francis P. Groat, Bloomsburg, Pa., assignor to The Magee Carpet Company, Bloomsburg, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Appiication August s, V1951,serni No. 240,191

z ciaims. (ci. zii- 72) This invention relates to pile fabric and method of making the same.

In my prior application Serial No. 222,882 I disclosed a carpet having high and low pile in whichl some of the pile turfts were formed of composite .strands of yarn composed of synthetic and natural wool fibers, the synthetic fibers being of a thermoplatic type that will shrink when heated whereby the natural wool fibers protrude from the ends of the tuft legs to form caps of fuzz.

The present invention relates to a pile fabric in which the pile tufts are formed of twisted-strands of composite yarns containing thermoplastic fibers, or twisted strands of composite yarns, one of the strands containing thermoplastic fibers and the other strand containing only nonthermoplatic fibers. Whether or not all the strands contain thermoplastic fibers depends upon the effect desired. If it is desired to obtain a high and low pile effect some of the rows of tufts are made of the composite twisted strands of yarn containing thermoplastic fibers and other rows are made of natural wool yarns or composite yarns containing only non-thermoplastic fibers. When fabrics are woven with yarns of the above character the pile will be of uniform height but upon subjecting the fabric to a heat treatment the thermoplatic fibers of the composite strandsv of yarn will shrink causing the twisted strands to spread apart at their ends and lean in various directions thereby reducing the height of the tufts and at the` same time some of the non-thermoplastic bers will protrude from the ends of the shrunken strands giving a frieze'or astrakan effect to the pile face of the fabric. At present it is difficult to obtain what are known as Sculptured effects with the background having a frieze appearance in floor coverings of the Axminster type and this invention is particularly useful in making Axminster carpets. While the invention is described as applied to a carpet of Axminster weave it is apparent to those skilled in the art it may be employed also in the weaving of Wilton and Velvet carpets without departing from the spirit of the invention.

It is an object of the invention to produce a pile yarn for floor coverings of composite twisted strands of yarn containing thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic fibers.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a pile yarn of twisted strands of yarn, one of the strands being composed of thermoplastic fibers and non-thermoplastic bers and the other strand composed of nonthermoplastic fibers.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a floor covering having high and low pile, the high pile being formed of yarn composed of non-thermoplastic bers and the low pile of twisted strands of yarn composed of thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic fibers, with the ends of the twisted strands spread apart and leaning in various directions and portions of the non-thermoplastic bers protruding from the ends to produce a frieze effect,

A still further object of the invention resides in making a pile fabric with some of the pile elements formed of non-thermoplastic yarns, and other pile elements formed of twisted yarn strands composed of thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic fibers and then subjecting the pile elements to a heat treatment whereby the thermoplastic fibers of the twisted yarn strands will shrink to reduce the height of the pile elements and produce a fabric having a high and low pile surface with the low pile area having a frieze or astrakan effect.

Another object of the invention is to make a pile fabric having a pile composed of twisted strands of yarn containing thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic fibers and then subjecting the pile to a heat treatment to cause shrinking of the thermoplastic fibers to reduce the height of the pile and spreading of the ends of the twisted strands with portions of the non-thermoplastic fibers protruding from the ends.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a warpwise section of a carpet constructed according to the invention showing the pile tufts before treating the pile to shrink the thermoplastic fibers,

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the pile tufts after treatment,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a high and low pile carpet showing the pile tufts before treatment, and,

Fig. 4 is a view similar of Fig. 3 showing the high and low pile after treatment.

In the drawing, a carpet is shown of the Axminster type but it is to be understood the invention is applicable to a Wilton or Velvet type carpet. The conventional Axminster weave for the backing is shown having the usual series of double weft shots 5, 6 and 7, stulfer warps S and 9 and binder warps 10. The intermediate weftfshots 6 are disposed directly above the lower weft shots 7 in vertical alinement therewith and the upper weft shots 5 are disposed above and between adjacent pairs of intermediate weft shots. The stuffer warps 8 and 9 extend longitudinally between the pairs of weft shots and the weft shots and stuffer warps are held in connected relation by the binder warps 10 looped alternately around the lower weft shots 7 and uper weft shots 5. The rows of tufts 11 are disposed between the pairs of upper weft shots 5 and are substantially U-shape with the bight portion 12 being held between the intermediate and lower weft shots 6 and 7.

Referring more particular to my invention, the tufts 11 are formed from pile yarns composed of two or more twisted strands 13 and 14. The strand 13 is composed of thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic fibers, blended and spun into a yarn with three and one-half or more turns per inch. The non-thermoplastic fibers may be stock dyed wool while the thermoplastic fibers are Vinyon, a synthetic liber which is a product of vinyl chloride or vinyl acetate or both. Other non-thermoplastic iibers may be used in place of the wool and thermoplastic fibers having the characteristic of shrinking when heated may be used in place of the Vinyon fibers. I have found a proportion of 30% non-thermoplastic fibers to 70% of thermoplastic fibers produces a satisfactory yarn for the purpose intended although it is to be understood the proportions given may be varied. The strand 14 is composed of wool fibers alone or a blend of wool and synthetic fibers, such as viscose rayon spun into a. yarn with three and one-half turns or more to the inch. The strand 14 may be skein dyed or stock dyed fibers may be used. It is to be understood the strand 14 may include some thermoplastic fibers such as Vinyon if desired.

The strands of yarn 13 and 14 are twisted together six turns per inch to produce the pile yarn forming the tufts 11. The number of turns per inch may be greater but I have found six turns per inch is most satisfactory for Axminster weaving. The pile yarn is woven by conventional methods to form rows of pile tufts 11 which are substantially uniform height. After shearing the tufts the carpet is steamed at a temperature of no less than 180 F. During the steaming process the Vinyon or thermoplastic fibers in the strand 13 shrink considerably and swell to a certain extent. Due to the twist of the strands 13 and 14, the strand 14 is pulled down closer to the backing of the carpet but not to the same degree as the strand 13. The shrinkage of the strand 13 containing the Vinyon causes both strands to spread apart and lean in various directions giving a frieze or astrakan effect to the pile surface. Also contraction of the Vinyon results in some of the wool protruding from the ends of strand 13 forming a fuzz or cap of wool 17 which gives color to the ends.

High and low pile effects may be obtained in Axminster carpets with low pile area having a frieze or astrakan appearance by forming some of the tufts from twisted strands of yarns 13 and 14 and other tufts from pile yarns 15 composed of natural wool, non-thermoplastic synthetic wool or a combination of both. As shown in Fig. 3, when the yarns are woven into the carpet to form rows of tufts 11 and 16, all the tufts will be the same height. After shearing and subjecting the pile to a steam treatment at no less than 180 F., the tufts 11 will be reduced to a height less than the height of the tufts 16, due to the shrinking action of the thermoplastic fibers contained in the yarn strand 13. As shown in Fig. 4, the pile surface will have rows of high and low tufts with the low tufts having the appearance of frieze or astrakan due to the spreading of the ends of the strands forming the legs of the tufts and protrusion of wool from the ends of the strands containing the thermoplastic fibers.

Thus it is seen I have provided a composite pile yarn of twisted strands of yarn, wherein one or both strands contain thermoplastic fibers having the characteristic of shrinking when subjected to a heat treatment. The nonthermoplastic fibers are stock dyed before spinning and when the thermoplastic fibers shrink a portion of the dyed non-thermoplastic fibers will protrude from the ends of the strands giving color to the pile tufts. The shrinking of the thermoplastic fibers causes the ends of the twisted strands to spread apart and lean in various directions so that the pile surface of the carpet has a frieze or astrakan effect. Such a yarn may be used alone to Llo produce the entire pile surface of a carpet or it may be used in combination -with natural or non-thermoplastic pile yarn whereby pile of different heights may be formed with the low pile in the background having a frieze or astrakan appearance. The effects produced in making Axminster carpet by use of the new yarn alone or in combination with other yarns is quite different from the effects now possible with conventional yarns.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A carpet having a pile surface composed of tufts formed of multi-ply yarns, at least one of said plies being composed of non-thermoplastic fibers and another of the plies being composed of a blend of non-thermoplastic and thermoplastic fibers having the property of shrinking under heat treatment, the legs of the tufts being contracted in the direction of their length with the ends of the plies spread apart and the end of the second-mentioned ply containing the thermoplastic fibers being below the end of the first-mentioned ply and having portions of the non-thermoplastic fibers projecting therefrom.

2. A method of making a pile floor covering comprising forming tufts of multi-ply yarns with at least one of the plies being composed of non-thermoplastic fibers and another of said plies being composed of blended non-thermoplastic and heat shrinkable thermoplastic fibers and then subjecting the pile to a heat treatment to shrink the thermoplastic fibers whereby the yarns are contracted in the direction of their length thereby spreading the ends of the plies apart with the end of the secondmentioned ply containing thermoplastic fibers being below the end of the first-mentioned ply and having portions of the non-thermoplastic fibers projecting therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,661,018 Stroud Feb. 28, 1928 2,161,766 Rugeley et al June 6, 1939 2,277,782 Rugeley Mar. 3l, 1942 2,278,895 Rugeley et al. Apr. 7, 1942 2,352,245 Bell et al June 27, 1944 2,357,392 Francis Sept. 5, 1944 2,414,800 Charch et al Ian. 28, 1947 2,504,523 Harris et al. Apr. 18, 1950 2,656,585 Jackson Oct. 27, 1953 2,699,593 Matthews Jan. 18, 1955 

